Trillions more cuts in term two are planned. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and public pensions are targeted. So are education, healthcare, food stamps, and other vital social safety net protections.

All men are created equal, Obama claimed. America "cannot succeed when a shrinking few do well and a growing many barely make it."

Obama did more than any previous president to increase an unconscionable wealth gap. It's unprecedented and escalating.

He, key Democrats, and Republicans are in lockstep. Not a dime's worth of difference separates them. They pretend otherwise. So do media scoundrels. Illusion substitutes for reality.

Obama challenged Republicans disingenuously. He called on them to back his agenda, saying:

"Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-old debates about the role of government for all time - but it does require us to act in our time."

"For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle or substitute spectacle for politics or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act."

He claimed austerity protects America's social contract. He pretends destroying it preserves it. He professed a commitment to securing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

His policy measures aim to destroy them. High-sounding rhetoric belies his intentions. He repudiates what he claims to support.

He spent four years waging class war. He's no friend of labor. He wants America's middle class destroyed.

He considers welfare a four-letter word. He slashed hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare and other safety net programs.

He increased poverty, unemployment, homelessness, hunger and despair. He prioritizes greater harm in term two.

"We reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future," he said.

At the 2004 Democrat convention, he said "There's not a liberal America and a conservative America. There's a United States of America.”

On Monday, he echoed the same theme. What makes us Americans is sharing the nation's founding principles, he said. He urged advancing them with "common effort and common purpose."

He disingenuously defended social benefits. "We the people still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity," he said.

Populist programs "do not make us a nation of takers. They free us to take the risks that make this country great."

In 2009, Obama said America "must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace." He's waged multiple direct and proxy wars. He plans more. He targets independent governments. He wants pro-Western puppet regimes replacing them.

On Monday, he left foreign policy largely unaddressed. Multiple direct and proxy wars went unmentioned. New targets weren't explained.

Torture as official policy, targeted assassinations, war on terror duplicity, police state repression, predatory capitalism, worker exploitation, and growing social misery got no attention.

Columnist Dan Balz said his "speech reveal(ed) a different leader." He "never lacked for confidence, but rarely has that attribute been on display as clearly as on Monday…."

He "underscored the distance he has traveled after four contentious years in office." His "first campaign was aspirational."

"Monday's speech conveyed the ambitions of a president looking" to build his legacy. His "priorities….will cheer" liberal Democrats and "alarm many on the right."

Instead of telling readers what they need to know, Balz lied. Other media scoundrels do the same thing. Harming people is portrayed as helping them. Neoliberal policy is called populist. Permanent war reflects Washington's peace agenda.

America was never beautiful and isn't now. Privileged elites alone benefit. The worst of all possible worlds affects others. Escalated harshness is planned.

Humanity may not survive four more years. Don't expect media scoundrels to explain.

A Final Comment: Obama's Inaugural Money Chase

In 2009, Obama promised new openness. He capped inaugural fund donations at $50,000. He declined corporate and trade union contributions.

This year, the sky's the limit. All amounts were welcomed. Any and all offered were welcomed. Roll Call said:

Obama's "decision to collect unlimited corporate cash for his inauguration, and to disclose less about donors than he did four years ago, has triggered broad speculation about what he really plans to do with the money."

"Theories range from the claim that Obama is getting a jump-start on funding his presidential library to conjecture that leftover campaign cash will prop up his grass-roots organizing operation, reportedly to be renamed Organizing for Action."

"Some say that it may even line the pockets of loyal campaign consultants."

"Corporations make donations to events like the inaugural festivities because they get something back in return. It’s not a bribe, but they do expect to get their calls returned faster, their proposals viewed more favorably."

"Here's a guy who four years ago was Mr. Transparency, vowing to change the business was done in Washington, and how it all looks very much as its business as usual once again."

Straightaway in term one, his true colors were shown. He represents a corrupted system too dysfunctional to fix. Corporate cash reflects the tip of the iceberg. There's plenty more following inaugural donations.

Influence buyers know you have to pay to play. The more given, the more returned manyfold. Obama's hands are as dirty as the worst of them. He's got four more years to inflict more harm. Expect him to take full advantage.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

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